Reilly Opelka scored the biggest win of his career on Monday in Melbourne.
Photograph: Paul Crock/AFP/Getty Images

For once, John Isner wasn’t the tallest man on the court. On Monday at the Australian Open the 6ft 10in Isner lost to the 7ft Reilly Opelka, despite hitting more aces than his opponent (47-40), delivering more winners (79-64) and finishing with more points (147-142). It was the first time Isner has failed to beat a fellow American at a grand slam.

Opelka, ranked 97th in the world, earned his first victory in a main-draw match at any of the majors by edging the No9-seeded Isner 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, with all four sets going to tiebreak.

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“There’s just a lot of things that are out of your control. That’s something I can relate to. I feel like when I’m playing well, that’s how my opponents think. And I was expecting that today; that I probably wouldn’t get to touch too many balls, too many serves, but I was hoping the same for him,” said the 21-year-old Opelka. “I know it’s awkward for both of us.”

The 33-year-old Isner was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year and entered the day with a 9-0 record in all-US contests at the slams. “It’s been helpful watching him, but at the same time, we’re different. There are similarities, but the ball comes back a lot more for me than it will for him,” Opelka said. “At least for now.”

Opelka said he viewed the win as a vehicle to help avoid returning to tennis’s lower levels, such as the ITF Transition Tour, of which Opelka recalled one tournament: “[It] didn’t have any balls. Didn’t have any courts. Didn’t have any water,” he said after Monday’s match.

Opelka took the eventual inevitable tiebreaker with the help of three aces, including one at 141 mph to close out the match. For Isner, it’s the second year in a row that he bowed out in the opening round in Australia.

In 2018, he began the season with six consecutive losses before turning things around and finishing with two titles and a pair of quarter-finals-or-better at majors. “I was 0-6 last year. I’m on my way to 0-6, so we’ll see if I can top that. I’m 0-2 right now,” said Isner, who lost his first match at Auckland, New Zealand, last week.